Out of the last 4 studio efforts, this is the most adventurous and accessible one of the lot, although this version of the band is more restrained than they were during the psychedelic era. John Wetton's bass provides a solid anchor for the rest of the band to play off of, and the end result resembles a reined-in version of Traffic's meandering early 70's sound. One of only two Family records that charted Stateside.

This half-studio/half-live effort actually deserves closer attention because it contains a few key calling card tracks, such as "Strange Band" and "Lives and Ladies". Plus, the music plays like good outtakes from the sessions of A Song From Me.

This is the most "Family" identifiable album in that the group is at its heaviest impact sonically, in all phases. They really push limits on the bookend tracks ("Drowned In Wine", the title track), both of which emphasize Roger Chapman's extreme vocal growls and howls - which had to be the template for future screamers like Brian Johnson and Udo from Accept. As with the previous effort, the material in between is mixed, but definitely more assured this time around, thanks to the addition of "Poli" Palmer, who would stick with the group through Bandstand. Just a solid, unflinching effort.

Family's second album belies the silliness depicted on the cover, which was a low-budget spoof on The Doors' Strange Days. The psychedelic theme and framework of the debut record is gone, and we are left with a somewhat disconnected collection of songs, skewed heavily toward "The Weaver's Answer", a wonderful dramatic reading which tracks a man's life from birth to death. The rest of the album is hit-and-miss although varied, with bassist Rick Grech's songwriting contributions bringing in a bit of a playful jolt next to Chapman and Whitney's ever more increasingly sober works. A far worse fate awaited the band on their follow-up U.S. tour, which was simply disastrous, resulting in Grech exiting the group in favor of super group Blind Faith.

Say what you will about Jethro Tull, Traffic, Spooky Tooth, and Free - and I love all those bands - but none of them came out with a debut record as completely realized as Family's Music In A Doll's House. What is this? How do you classify it? Who cares? They were never this wacky and relevant ever again. Traffic founder Dave Mason produces and pretty much lets the band blow through a number of tangents untethered, but nothing really ever overstays its' welcome, either. Bonus scrap of trivia - thanks to Family, the Beatles had to change the name of their then-upcoming release to "The Beatles" a.k.a. The White Album.